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Romulan History
Covert, passionate, violent and mysterious it is often hard to believe the war-like Romulans are actually descendants of the logical, pacifist and un-emotional Vulcans. 2,000 years ago Vulcan was covered in wars, the Vulcans fought each other for the little resources there were. Then came Surak, Surak preached peace and logic and this philosophy spread through Vulcan. Vulcans gradually became the Vulcans of today but there were those who did not appreciate this philosophy. These dissidents fought the Vulcans in a 100 year long war (Note: For an explanation of my reasoning for this see the Vulcan history.) After the war they were exiled from Vulcan and they wandered through space eventually settling on Romulus and Remus (AKA Remii, Reman). The Romulans spread through the Galaxy making many colonies. It is not known when First Contact took place but it is believed to be in the early 22nd Century, what is known is that by 2156 the Romulans were at war with Earth. Despite the Romulans owning pretty primitive vessels, not even owning warp drive, and the war being fought with primitive atomic weapons the war is the most bloody Earth or the Federation will see until the days of the Borg and the Dominion. In 2160 the war ended after the Romulans received a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Cheron. The Romulans surrender and a peace treaty is signed creating the infamous 1 light year across neutral zone. Crossing this would be an act of war (Note: Which doesn't seem to stop the Romulans or indeed the Federation crossing it every 5 damn minutes!) In 2161 the Federation was formed, Starfleet is incorporated into it. The Federation is possibly a defensive arrangement against the Romulans. Despite the war and treaty the humans did not know what a Romulan looked like The Romulans went into isolation until 2266. In 2266 the Romulans new Bird-of-Prey crossed the neutral zone and destroyed Neutral Zone outposts 2, 3, 4 and 8. The craft is relatively primitive but has an advantage over Federation vessels in that it has the first cloaking device and has Plasma Torpedoes, an incredibly powerful super-weapon which rips through metal like knife through butter. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) entered the neutral zone and confronted the vessel, destroying it. The Romulans leave the neutral zone. In 2267 the Enterprise once again entered the neutral zone when the command crew was struck down with hyper-accelerated aging caused by radiation. The entire vessels command crew was struck down with the disease and crossing the neutral zone was intended as a 'Short-Cut' to Starbase 10. The vessel was stopped by a Romulan ship and Captain Kirk claimed the vessel has a Corbomite device which would explode and destroy the vessel if it fired upon him. The vessel allowed the Enterprise to continue. Near the end of that year the Federation, Klingon and Romulan governments set up a joint-colony on Nimbus III dubbing it the 'Planet of Galactic Peace' the colony is a failure. In 2268 the Enterprise crossed the neutral zone one last time. The vessel entered the zone and was captured by three D7's, a result of a new Klingon-Romulan alliance to protect against the Federation, during the operation after plan upon plan the Enterprise escapes to Federation space with the Romulan Commander that captured them and one Improved Romulan Cloaking device. In 2271 Klingon forces under Kor win a battle against the Romulans at Klach D'kel Brakt. The battle shows the fragility of the alliance. In 2292 the alliance collapsed under unknown circumstances. However to this day the Romulans and Klingons remain blood enemies. In 2293 the Romulans attend the Khitomer conference. Although they don't enjoy many new treaties Senator Pardek of Romulus does meet Captain Spock of Starfleet at Khitomer and the two will eventually attempt to forge peace between Romulus and the Federation. in 2311 the Tomed Incident occurred. Thousands of Federation citizens lost their lives to Romulan forces. As a result the Romulans and the Federation signed the Treaty of Algeron. The Treaty reinforced the neutral zone and made it illegal for the Federation to develop or deploy cloaking devices without Romulan permission (Note: Which doesn't stop them making Phase Cloaking ships or deploying cloaking mines!) After the incident the Romulans isolated themselves from the Federation but began a policy of destabilising the Klingon government. In 2344 the Romulans attacked the Klingon colony on Narendra III. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) came to the colonies rescue but 1 colony and a Federation Ambassador Class Starship were no match for four Romulan Warbirds. The Romulans succeeded in destroying the colony. In 2346 the Romulans collaborated with Ja'rod, a powerful Klingon politician, and got the Khitomer outpost's shield codes. The Romulans destroyed the camp massacring everyone inside with the exception of a small Klingon boy, Worf, son of Mogh, and his nursemaid Kahlest. The USS Intrepid is the first on the seen and rescues the two of them. (Note: Nearly 100 Klingon warriors also survived the attack but that is another story.) Despite being designed to destabilise the KDF (Klingon Defence Force) these attacks in fact drew the Federation and Klingon governments together making them firm allies. By 2351 a new era of peace began between the two super-powers. In Romulan history one vessel has made more of an impact than any other. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) a Federation Starship was launched in 2363. In late 2364 the Borg attacked. They destroyed several Federation neutral zone colonies. The Enterprise travelled to the neutral zone and investigated the attack suspecting Romulan attacks. As they investigate a Romulan vessel decloaked. The vessels Commander told Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise that colonies on their side of the border had been destroyed in a similar fashion. It was realised that the Romulans were not responsible for the attack but the Romulans promised that they would return as an adversary for the Federation. Ironically the first Romulan-Federation confrontation, occurring in 2365, was caused by the Federation and not the Romulans. The USS Yamato's Captain, Captain Donald Varley, believed the ancient planet Iconia (where a hugely advanced civilisation of myth supposedly originated) was within the Romulan neutral zone. The Yamato journeyed inside the neutral zone and indeed found Iconia, however the vessel was struck with an ancient Iconian Computer weapon and destroyed. The Enterprise and a Romulan vessel, the Haakona, journeyed inside and both were threatened by the weapon. However they managed to escape and both left the neutral zone without serious incident. 2366 was one of the most active between the Federation and Romulans. First during that year the Enterprise travelled to Galorndon Core, a planet less than 1 light year from the neutral zone. On Galorndon Core they discovered a crashed Romulan scout ship. On the planet they discovered a hurt Romulan who they cared for. A Romulan Warbird crossed the neutral zone to rescue the crew. On Galorndon Core, Enterprise Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge was trapped. He met with Romulan Centurion Bochra and although relations between the two originally consist of Bochra threatening La Forge constantly the two eventually realise they must work together. Using a tricorder joined to La Forge's VISOR Bochra is able to take the semi-paralysed La Forge to a neutrino beacon beamed down by the Enterprise. Meanwhile the Enterprise was readying itself for battle with the Romulan vessel which had crossed the neutral zone which was demanding the return of their officer (who was still in sickbay) however Picard informed the Romulans that their officer had died. They detected La Forge and Bochra and beamed them aboard. Bochra was returned to the Romulans, much to the pleasure of Warbird Commander Tomalok. The Warbird returned to Romulan territory. Several weeks later the Enterprise once again met Tomalok. Romulan Admiral Alidar Jarok travelled in a Romulan Scout ship across the neutral zone being pursued by a Romulan Warbird. Once across the zone the Enterprise saved him. Jarok claimed to be Sublieutenant Setal. He claims there is a secret Romulan base in the neutral zone at Nelvana III. The supposed base would be in striking range of fifteen Federation sectors and would be the base for a new Romulan war against the Federation. Jarok reveals who he is and this angers the Federation that he has lied and they become suspicious. However Captain Picard moved into the zone after a cloaked signal was detected. When they got to Nelvana III they found a cloaked satellite orbiting the planet and two Romulan Warbirds. Commander Tomalok, Commander of the Warbirds told Picard that it had been a whole plot to see how loyal Admiral Jarok was. Jarok had been fed false information in an attempt to discover his loyalties. When the Enterprise had entered the neutral zone it had also been a ploy to start intergalactic war with the Federation. Tomalok gave the order to fire but just before he could three Klingon K'Vort Class attack cruisers decloaked. The Romulans were outnumbered and outgunned and they left the neutral zone. Jarok however committed suicide. He could not return to his former life and left a letter to his daughter. One day, Picard said, peace would come between the two powers and the letter could be delivered. In his letter Jarok made it clear he had done these things to make a better universe for his daughter to grow up in. With men like Jarok maybe one day the distance between Earth and Romulus won't seem so far. Later that year the Romulans and the Federation argued over who had the writes to Gomtuu (codenamed by Starfleet as Tin Man) the situation was resolved when Gomtuu left with Federation first contact specialist Tam Elbrun. The situation ended with the destruction of a Romulan spacecraft. In early 2367 the Enterprise escorted Vulcan Ambassador T'Pel to the Romulan Neutral zone to conduct negotiations for the Federation. As T'Pel beamed over to the Romulan vessel waiting at the zone there appeared to be a transporter accident and T'Pel was assumed dead. The Enterprise investigated but found evidence that the Romulans had in fact transported T'Pel of the transporter pad a few seconds before Transport had begun. The Romulan vessel hailed the Enterprise. It's Commander revealed that 'T'Pel' was actually Subcommander Selok of the Romulan military who performing reconnaissance in the Federation. The Enterprise left the border without incident. This time, the Romulans had won. Later in that year the Romulans reprogrammed Lieutenant Commander Geordie La Forge mentally with instructions to kill Governor Vagh. It was eventually discovered a Romulan collaborator, Klingon Special Emissary Kell, was responsible and he was arrested. At the end of that year the Klingon Civil War began. The forces of Gowron battle the forces of the House of Duras for control of the Empire. At the start of 2368 the war still continued. Picard believed that the forces of Duras were getting supplies from the Romulan Empire. He asked a meeting of Admirals to set up and requested a chance to reveal a Romulan presence. The Admirals agreed and Picard took an Armada of 23 ships to the Romulan-Klingon border. Once there the vessels set up a tacyon network. If a cloaked vessel passed through the network it would become detectable. The Romulans bombarded the network with tacyons making it useless. However Lieutenant Commander Data in temporary command of the USS Sutherland fired two low yield photon torpedoes at what could possibly be cloaked vessels against the advice of his First Officer. The torpedoes hit revealing the vessels to be Romulan Warbirds. The Romulans made a hasty retreat and the war was won by Gowron. Later that year Ambassador Spock of Vulcan went missing. He was later seen on Romulus. Fleet Admiral Brackett ordered the Enterprise investigate. It was discovered that Spock had possibly met Senator Pardek, a peaceful Romulan official, on Romulus Picard and Data travelled upon a cloaked Klingon vessel to Romulus. On Romulus they found Spock and Pardek with a Romulan underground. It was revealed that these Romulans wished to reunite with Vulcan and follow the path of peace and logic. Spock worked with these people to establish reunification until it was revealed that Pardek was a traitor to the movement. Spock, Data and Picard were captured and informed that Spock was to inform the Federation that three Vulcan ships (carrying a Romulan invasion force) were in fact carrying peace envoys in the hope to establish reunification. Spock refused but he was informed that a hologram would be programmed if he refused to help. They knocked their captors unconscious and reprogrammed the hologram to sent a message informing the Federation of the Romulan plan. The Enterprise received the message and followed the Vulcan vessels. Almost as soon as the Enterprise hailed the vessels a Romulan Warbird decloaked and fired disruptors destroying the three Vulcan vessels stopping 2,000 loyal Romulan troops from being captured. Picard and Data returned upon the Klingon vessel. Spock remained on Romulus, working for the day when reunification is possible. Later that year the Enterprise repaired a Romulan Science vessel. This act of co-operation helped in the cooling of relations between the Federation and Romulan Star Empire. In Spring 2369 Counsellor Deanna Troi of the Enterprise was kidnapped from a conference and held captive aboard the Romulan Warbird, K'hazara. The First Officer explained to her that he was a member of the Romulan dissident movement. She was to pose as a member of the Tal Shiar, the internal Romulan intelligence , as a member of the Tal Shiar Troi had command even over the ship's Commanding Officer. She was asked to help deliver some 'special cargo' to the Federation. The cargo was delivered to the Enterprise and it was revealed to be Vice Proconsul M'ret and his aides. The Commanding Officer realised what was happening and executed her Executive Officer. Just as Deanna was about to be executed she was beamed of the ship and onto the Enterprise which made a hasty retreat. In Winter 2369 the Enterprise saved the crew of a Romulan vessel when the ship was destroyed by alien embryos in the vessels Artificial Quantum Singularity drive. The crew was safely returned again helping relations between the two super-powers. In late 2370 the Romulans searched for the USS Pegasus, a Federation vessel that they believed was equipped with a cloak. The Enterprise discovered the cloak and Picard revealed the devices existence to the Romulans. The perpetrators of the offence were arrested and court martialled. In that same year first contact occurred with the Dominion. The Romulans immediately planned for the worst as they saw the Dominion as the biggest threat since the Borg. In 2371 they made their first treaty with the Federation in years. In exchange for the Federation use of a Romulan cloaking device on the USS Defiant the Romulans would learn any and all information that the Federation had gathered on the Dominion. They came aboard Federation Station Deep Space 9. Negotiations go steadily albeit with the usual Romulan arrogance. However faint tetryon emissions are detected orbiting the station. It is soon revealed that it is a Romulan Warbird and the Romulans hope to destroy Deep Space 9 and close the wormhole in the process. With Deep Space 9 destroyed there would be no witnesses to the wormhole closing and the Dominion would no longer be able to come through the wormhole. However Commander Sisko of Deep Space 9 worked out what was happening and the Romulans left, although the treaty remained. However the Romulans plans were far more complex than just a simple closing of the wormhole. Security Officer Odo of Deep Space 9 was investigating an explosion in a shop on Deep Space 9. His search led him to the Cardassian Union where he met with his contact. His contact revealed there had been increased activity involving cloaked ships around the Romulan-Cardassian border. It seemed like an invasion. While continuing his search in a Federation Runabout Odo and the owner of the shop, Garak, found themselves captured aboard a Romulan Warbird. It was revealed to them that an alliance had formed between the Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order. The Order had secretly built vessels and thanks to the Romulans adapted them beyond the normal power of a Cardassian Warship. The ships were to head for the Founders homeworld where they would destroy the Founders. The ships decloaked at Deep Space 9 (Much to the stations surprise as Cardassian vessels are not normally capable of cloak) and travelled through. The vessels arrived at the planet and began to pummel the planets surface. After the first volley sensors stated that all the Founders were fine. The sensor readings were revealed to be false as a hundred Jem'Hadar attack fighters ambushed the fleet obliterating it. Just at that moment the USS Defiant arrived destroying a dozen fighters and managing to transport Odo and Garak onboard just before the final vessels were destroyed. The battle eliminated the Romulans as a threat to the Dominion. In 2373 the Cardassian Union joined the Dominion. A Federation and Klingon fleet prepared itself at DS9 to ready itself for a Dominion attack on DS9. To their surprise and delight a Romulan fleet decloaked and asked to join the fleet. When the incident ended without a battle the Romulans returned to their space. At the end of that year Captain Sisko of DS9 mined the wormhole to stop the Dominion reinforcements to the Cardassian Union. The Dominion offered non-aggression pacts to many Alpha Quadrant nations and among those that accepted were Bajor, the Tholian Assembly and perhaps surprisingly the Romulan Star Empire. The news that the Star Empire had agreed to the pact made one Klingon Deep Space 9 Officer declare "The Romulans! I always knew they were without honour!" As the Federation and Klingon Empire battled they were unable to defeat the swarms of Dominion vessels. In mysterious circumstances a Romulan shuttle carrying Senator Vreenak exploded. Tal Shiar investigation pointed towards the Dominion. The Romulans entered the war and finally the alliance began to push back the Dominion forces. At the end of 2374 the alliance captured the Chin'Toka system. With a foothold in Cardassian space it looked like the alliance was ready to win this war. At the start of 2375 Senator Cretak was assigned as the Romulan representative to the alliance. Along with Captain Ben Sisko of Starfleet, Admiral Ross of Starfleet and General Martok of the KDF (Klingon Defence Force) Cretak would help in decision making for the war. However Cretak's first act was not to do with the war. Cretak asked the Bajoran people to allow the Romulans to set up a hospital on one of the uninhabited Bajoran moons. The Bajoran people, wanting to help the war effort in any way possible, agreed. However DS9 security chief Odo discovered evidence of Romulan Plasma Torpedoes in the 'hospital'. He showed this information to Station Commander Colonel Kira Nerys who demanded the torpedoes be removed. The Romulans refused. Kira took matters into her own hands and set up a blockade of the moon. The vessels used were only Bajoran impulse ships however, and although there were twelve of them they knew that the blockade was no match for one Warbird. The blockade soon got word of an incoming Romulan Warbird squadron. The squadron approached the blockade ready to blow the impulse ships to hell. Admiral Ross hailed Kira. Not wanting an armed conflict between two Federation allies Ross attempted to persuade Kira to back down. Kira didn't agree. Just when it looked like the Romulans were about to destroy the blockade, Ross hailed Kira again. He told her Cretak had agreed to Kira's terms and backed down after Ross had made a plea on Kira's behalf. Later that year relations between the Romulans and the Federation were strained. Sloan of Section 31 arrived on DS9 with a mission for station Doctor Bashir. Sloan asked Bashir to travel to Romulus to monitor the Romulan leadership. Sloan asked Bashir to see if Koval, a key Romulan official who opposes the alliance is suffering from a degenerative disorder. Sloan appears to want to accelerate Koval's illness. Admiral Ross promised to stop Sloan at all costs. Unfortunately Ross is incapacitated before arresting Sloan. Bashir next tells Senator Cretak who he presses to gain knowledge about the murder from Koval's database. Meanwhile Koval interrogates Bashir. Bashir was told that Section 31 doesn't exist and that Sloan is motivated by vengeance. Bashir confronted Ross who told him that Koval is a "mole" working for the Federation and that Section 31 exists although it 'officially' doesn't. Soon after this the alliance received word that the Breen had joined the war. Despite their vessels being based upon 23rd Century Klingon ships the Romulans soon discovered that their ships were not immune and their ships (or the Klingon vessels) had evolved enough to make the Romulans susceptible to attack. When the Romulan's vessels finally became immune the war began to swing the other way again. The Dominion pulled back and readied itself for the long haul. The Romulans concurred with the decision to attack Cardassia Prime and the surrounding systems. As the fleet battled to Cardassia the Romulan flagship was destroyed. The Romulan line started to collapse and all looked lost. Then the Cardassians turned around and fired on the other Dominion vessels. With the Cardassians on the alliance's side the alliance punched through the Cardassia Prime. During the final battle the Romulans and Cardassians took on the Jem'Hadar forces and the alliance was triumphant. So what do we predict for the Romulans now? The Dominion war was tough on the Romulans, they took many casualties and lost a lot of strength. But then it wasn't as tough as it was on Cardassia on even the Federation due to them not being in the war so long. The Romulans are suspicious and although the war may help to aid some sort of peace between the Federation and the Romulans the Romulans won't be doing much to help. The Romulans are by nature suspicious and they have never truly trusted the Federation. Even during the Dominion war there were many factions in the Star Empire who didn't want an alliance with the Federation. The Star Empire will be back but it still has to deal with internal problems. For example will the Romulans be able to hold onto their territory? The military has been weakened and may no longer be able to deal with rebellion. However it's likely that the Star Empire will endure to become a threat again.